Deconstructing Eden
by PiperKierra
Summary: An excavation raises questions that only the A.R.C can answer and to that end the team is sent to Turkey to investigate an ancient sight with a reoccurring anomaly. - The rest of the summary is included with the first chapter.
1. Chapter 1

Deconstructing Eden

Summary: An excavation raises questions that only the A.R.C can answer and to that end the team is sent to Turkey to investigate an ancient sight with a reoccurring anomaly. A string of unexplained events and haunting occurrences sets the whole team on edge as they soon realize that they are in a fight for their lives.

Spoilers: Through the end of series five.

A/N: This story is Connor/Abby centric with some Jess/Becker tossed in. It is also not a sequel to "Whispers in the Dark". I do have an idea for that one but nothing solid yet. Feedback is love :)

Chapter One: Fallen Empires

"Line coming down!," Abby didn't even chance a glance upward at the call as she yanked her body flush with the wall, tucking her head against the rock while she waited for the line to fall.

"I know, I know, but what are the odds?" Becker's voice echoed from below her and she realized that he was still on his mobile. Abby waited for the thunk of the line against the rock beside her before she gave her head a shake and positioned herself to push off and repel again.

She hadn't gone more than ten feet when she paused next to Connor who had tangled himself in mid fall, now twisting with the rope as he faced opposite the wall instead of towards it. "Trouble?"

Even after two months of engagement, after a year in the Cretaceous, after everything and this, he still looked embarrassed to be found dangling and tangled. And yet Abby found it endearing. "I've never quite…" Connor began before giving it up with a sharp exhale, "Yeah. Can you just…"

She chuckled as she quickly made her way over to help right him and set him back on course, this time matching his pace. They were rappelling into a canyon, towards a cliff side city deep below where an anomaly was said to open on a regular basis, never to be closed, by any team that had studied it. So far the only threats that had come through were a few types of larger than life scorpions and a colony of ants that were wreaking havoc in the near vicinity.

The Turkish government had just gotten the ants under control and they didn't want to tackle the problem for a second time, so they had reached out to other Anomaly research organizations to help them close the anomaly. Connor's methods had already been tried but they were hoping that once he got a better reading and understanding of the thing that he could come up with a different way to close it off.

"No, it's beautiful," They passed Becker who was poised at a stop in mid gleeful conversation with Jess. "I know! I thought it would be more blandish too." Abby swallowed as she saw his smile fading. "I miss you too."

"They seem to be getting along well," Connor chanced once they were out of ear shot.

"They do," Abby gave a nod in agreement as she looked down to gauge their progress. They were about halfway with a five member crew from the Turkish Anomaly research center waiting for them at the bottom. They had come straight from the airport off a four and a half hour flight to the canyon and were now feeling the lack of sleep that departing at 3 in the morning offered.

"I was thinking," Connor nearly entered another spin as he was cut off when he slammed into the cliff wall and then quickly gained his bearings. Abby paused until he was ready to move again.

Finally as they both breathed a sigh of relief she chanced a glance in his direction. "You were thinking what?"

He'd forgotten by the look on his face, until now that it and she saw him quickly overcoming the adrenaline rush to come back to his original conclusion. "I was thinking that we should set a date in June," He smiled her way and nearly lost his footing again.

"Eyes, on the wall darling," She coaxed him with a growing smile. He had to have been thinking on a wedding date quite hard to let it interrupt this tricky jaunt to the bottom, "Why June?"

"We can have it outdoors," Connor offered. "I thought maybe at the Gardens."

"Depending on which garden, they may be booked already," She didn't want to burst his bubble but she was trying to be realistic. "If you want to wait for the gardens though we can wait until next summer," She offered.

"No," Connor said it so quickly that Abby's gaze shot upward and she missed a crucial foot hold on the wall, sending her slipping down the wall in a painful full body hug of the Hoodoo(rock material) before her.

"Abby," Connor's called out as he rushed to make it to her side, just as she gained her bearings.

Abby gave him a bloody smile with her split lip to reassure him as her elbows and knees ached from the impact. "Maybe we should save this conversation for the hotel." She wanted to have it as much as he did, but they needed to make it to the bottom without any more incidences. She nearly lost her smile when she saw the disappointment mingling with his relief that she was alright and she stroked his cheek with her free hand. "It's alright, we'll talk about it soon, I promise." She kissed his lips softly before releasing him. "Let's get to the canyon floor," She prodded.

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"I can't wait," Jess swallowed tightly as she disconnected the call with Becker with a sigh.

"Have they landed?" Lester called from the towering second floor walkway that overlooked the pen where she sat. Jess twirled the seat around away from the consoles to give him a nod. "Keep me informed," And with that and a pop of a manila folder against the railing he was on his way back towards his office.

Lester was nearly there when he happened by a usually vacant break room. He was halfway passed the threshold when he realized that the room was packed, the lone television in the corner captivating the scientists and soldiers that made up the A.R.C. personnel.

He soon realized why.

"The quake was registered as an 8.9 by the U.S. Geological Survey, a record quake to usher in the celebration of the New Madrid Earthquake Sequence bicentennial. Officials are already reporting that this is the most prolific disaster to strike the Eastern states since Hurricane Katrina. Extensive damage in Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Mississippi is being reported at a staggering pace, with one such report claiming that the city of New Madrid has collapsed into the growing fissure."

Amidst the voice of the anchor visuals coming in from cell phone cameras and new crews in the field interspersed with photos played in the background, grizzly scenes of destruction on a vast scope. Lester felt a flare of worry sinking in deep as more fuel to the sinking fire of global doom was heaved onto the pyre.

They knew the anomalies were one symptom of the polar shift, but Matt's explanation was seen through the eyes of a world on the brink of destruction through man made interference. Was this the beginning of Earth's natural disastrous finale to the convergence aftermath? He pushed off the doorframe of the break room, leaving the mesmerized masses to gawk at the television while he headed back to his office to find out what more he could.

His instincts were choked on the number of dead about to be tallied.

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"It's beautiful," Abby was absolutely beside herself as she looked into the cavernous wonder that was the underground city they had come to inspect. It hadn't garnered the fame of such cities as Derinkuyu, mostly because the government had kept it a secret, but it was absolutely breathtaking.

She, Connor, Becker, and Matt made it down in one piece to find that Turkey's best kept secret was merely a few feet away, just under the cliff wall they had traversed.

It should have been listed as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, inside the humongous cavern that spanned hundreds of feet upward, and thousands outward, there was a stone city that was immaculately preserved, literally carved out – the whole cave man made. It shouldn't have been here. It was pristine needing the modern tools of man to make it a reality, and yet here it was, mocking evolution, the tools dating back as far as 26,000 years ago.

And in its very heart was an onyx cage built around the largest Anomaly they had ever witnessed. It was a sacred sight worshipped by the people of the area and it was beautiful. Countless people had disappeared through it, but only two of late, members of the Turkish A.R.C. No one in recorded history had ever returned.

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A/N: Next Chapter Lester's fears become a reality as Connor makes a strange observation of the Turkish anomaly. I won't be able to update this as frequently as "Whispers in the Dark" but it should still be timely.


	2. Murphy's Law

A/N: Sorry about the awkward wording of the last Chapter, my Beta is out of town and I tend to miss way more than I find. I hope everyone enjoys :)

I do have a promo video for this story as well and I will try to post the link here. If here doesn't work you can always check my profile page for a link. Here is the link…***.com/watch?v=HPO16ntLI3E***

Chapter Two: Murphy's Law…

You get a date?" Abby slung her backpack onto a stone bench that faced the Anomaly as Connor starred at the interface device in perplexed wonder while pacing around the Onyx cage that much resembled the Egyptian one, save the statues were only pillars and there were seven instead of the four.

"It's dancing between two," Connor replied with a tell-tale scratch of his head with his left hand as he glanced between the anomaly and the device repeatedly.

"What?" Abby didn't understand. Connor had worked every single bug out of the dating device that was imaginable.

"I know. It doesn't make sense." Connor replied with a hitch of a breath as he stumbled over a rock without losing focus. He finally let his shoulders fall as he held up the meter so that she could see the numbers flipping back and forth like a possessed calculator. "It's as if this anomaly opens to more than one time period." He sighed in exasperation.

"Can it do that?" Abby frowned worriedly.

Connor gave a half shrug with a tender shake of his head as he nodded back towards the machine as a point of reference. "They said that they've been getting similar readings but they weren't able to quantify them with anything substantial." He explained to which Abby gave a confused open mouthed expression. Connor took it upon himself to elaborate further. "No one knows."

Becker walked past the both of them and heaved a set of duffle bags to Connor's left, taking in the vast anomaly before him. "I can't believe that's the biggest we've seen." He marveled. "I mean after everything, and still nothing much has come from it. The last one this size had a Whatever Rex come running from it," He shrugged. 

"Let's not tempt fate," Matt chuckled joining the group after a long powwow with the powers that be on site. "What have we got so far?"

"I've checked the perimeter but the locals have it covered." Becker spoke up quickly, "I'm just adding a few measures of security around the cage."

Matt gave a nod of approval before looking to Abby.

"I haven't seen any sign of the ants or scorpions that they've discussed but I'm supposed to confer with the leading entomologists in the morning," She confided.

Matt then looked to Connor who was staring into the heart of the anomaly and after clearing his throat didn't bring Connor back to the rest of the team he sighed and called, "Connor?"

Connor looked back over his shoulder in confusion before he realized that Matt wanted a report on what he knew so far. "Oh, nothing yet, it's either 26,590 years past or nearer 11,278 years past. I can't decipher the meaning of these readings yet, but I'm confident that after…"

"Would it be safe to say that calling it a night would be a wise decision?" Matt asked him as dusk was falling fast.

Connor weighed the question glancing at the anomaly wistfully a moment before he caught Abby's eye and his obsession melted. "Yeah," he nodded.

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"The internet is down!" Jess called frantically as she pulled herself backwards under the console regardless of her skirt, trying to bypass some connections to get back online.

There was a flurry of motion all around her as scientists and soldiers alike were evacuating the A.R.C.

She wrinkled her nose and pressed the button on her earpiece. "Jess," She seethed in an answer to someone else's frantic call. She listened in mid pruning of wires and frowned as she closed her eyes in exasperation. "Yeah I know, the whole system is down, what have you got?" Jess continued to work as she had ever since about two hours after she had last spoken to Becker. All of the United Kingdom was in an uproar as an Earthquake had set in motion a Tsunami warning that was only an hour from making landfall.

"Jess!" Jess peered up from her back to find Emily hurrying down the steps from Lester's office. "We're flying out in half an hour, we need to move." She called frantically.

Jess's eyes widened as this was the first of flying out she had heard about. Just how big was the wave supposed to be? "We're what?" She asked in horror.

"We're supposed to load a plane," Emily replied as though she knew only so much as what Lester had asked her to relay. "Things are deteriorating rapidly." Emily had a better grasp on things but Jess was having a hard time believing that they were simply abandoning their post. What in the world wasn't she picking up with her lack of internet and connections?

"What?" Jess held up a finger to quiet Emily as she sat up, under the console, nearly banging her head against the bottom of the set. "You're sure? Danny?" She asked as if she'd heard wrong.

She looked back to Emily in horror. "Tell him we're meeting at the airport in twenty…" Jess rushed out as she pulled herself out from under the consoles, with Emily's helping hand to bring her to feet. "He knows which one!" She replied over the headset frantically as the two women made an all-out run to follow the other personnel that were evacuating the ARC.

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Connor rolled arms wrapped around Abby as he landed under her on the small double bed, the both of them absolutely enraptured in each other, lips locked in a frenzy of lust as hands roamed in a frantic shedding of clothing that was building towards absolute bliss…

Fate gave a knuckle bump to Murphy's infamous law as a resounding impact against their hotel room window got a jump from Abby and a cry from Connor when her slip left his bottom lip bleeding. The both of them shifted their gaze towards the curtain shrouded window just as three more thumping impacts rattled the glass.

Abby quickly untangled herself from Connor, climbing to her feet in scantily clad panties and a tank top. She skirted their discarded clothes as Connor swung his legs over the side of the bed and got to his feet as well, bare chested with only his boxers to keep him warm. He licked at his bloodied lip as he made his way behind her.

They froze Abby's fingers trembling against her hold on the curtains as a streak of lightening lit the night sky just as four more bird struck the window. Connor wrapped his arms around Abby as she jumped from the unexpected bird strike. Lightening from a distant storm danced through the clouds as the both of them took a step backwards in tandem, in shock, wondering what had caused the birds to lose their bearings so.

They were on the fifth floor, now awash in the flickering storm light. Connor and Abby both shifted their focus a second later when the bedside lamp light began to join the percussive light show in the skies, the electricity seemingly teetering on an outage. Another slam reverted the focus back to the window as they both jumped again. This time not even the shivering echoes of the dying electricity could hold their attention as bird after bird hit the window in a cacophonous midnight blur.

One crack in the glass later found Connor cursing as they both dropped to the floor, covering their heads as he hovered over Abby, the whole room in a flurry of squawking wing beats and flying glass.

Connor soon made a mad grab for the comforter on the bed to cover the both of them as dozens of birds tore through the room. Abby scrambled under Connor to get her feet under her as he held the blanket as steady as he could over them while trying to pull the both of them to their feet.

They stumbled in the darkness in a clumsy hunched over run out the hotel room door. Emergency lights dimly lit the corridor as they barreled into the corridor wall across from the room. Connor immediately whirled pulling the door closed behind them as a few stray birds flapped through the hallway.

Connor turned slowly, eyes wide in shock, blanket still wrapped halfway over his left shoulder as he met Abby's startled eyes, the both of them heaving in breath after breath as they tried to calm their addled hearts.

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A/N: Thank you for the encouraging reviews :) And I don't plan to repeat the troubling themes in "Whispers." But there will be some angstiness, okay probably lots of angstiness, but good times :)

So…would love to know whatcha think…


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